La Grande Illusion
by AlwaysPadfoot
Summary: Draco does something drastic as a last resort.


**AN:** Prompts will be displayed at the bottom to avoid them potentially giving away things.

* * *

 **La Grande Illusion**

 **AlwaysPadfoot**

* * *

Draco Malfoy knew that this whole plan was insane.

Even though the first part of it had gone off without a hitch. He dared to say it had gone perfectly since he was staring at his fifteen year old body. He'd only de-aged five years, but those five years had taken a toll on him. Before his face has been drawn, his body near-skeletal under years in a world where the Dark Lord won at the Battle of Hogwarts. Draco had truly given up, spiraling into a dark depression.

This was his chance. He knew no one would find him where he was running to, and this was his final opportunity. If this failed, then there was no going back.

His stomach rumbled loudly, protesting that the only thing in there was an apple, and Draco sighed. His eyes swept over his reflection in the mirror once more, before he turned back to the rune circle carved into the wooden floorboards beneath his feet. If everything worked, in five minutes time, he'd be standing in this exact spot just twenty-five years ago.

Draco cleared his mind as he lit the six candles that surrounded him. He'd learnt the spell off by heart. Reading somewhere that Wizards had to be worthy of the magic they were performing, Draco had made sure he'd done absolutely everything he could to achieve that. Even so, this whole thing, it was a shot in the dark. If it worked then that was great, if it didn't, then Daco could be cast into nothingness for the rest of his life. He wasn't really worried about that, there was nothing here either. His mother was dead and his father had grown cruel and twisted.

Taking a deep breath, Draco raised his wand and began to cast.

* * *

To his surprise, it didn't hurt. What did hurt, however, was the crash landing into the ground.

Draco landed, twisting his ankle as he did. The room was dark, but he could make out that it was no longer his room, but a space used for storage.

"Deep down she's a good person. Deep down, I'm not."

At the sound of a unfamiliar voice, Draco focused his attention across the room, and jumped up to his feet. The only problem, however, was as soon as he put weight on his right foot his leg gave out and Draco hit the wooden floor with a loud thud.

"Prongs… did you hear that?" the same voice said.

A shadow was cast across the slither of light coming through the slightly ajar door, and Draco couldn't think fast enough to do anything. The sound of two people moved across the hallway outside and then someone pushed the door open slowly. It creaked loudly and Draco winced. What, however, was more concerning, was the fact that one of the two boys looked just like Potter. Draco blinked, trying to think of an excuse.

"Hey, are you okay?" the Harry-lookalike said.

Draco shook his head and then followed up with: "I'm fine."

Both boys were in dress-robes and over the ringing in Draco's ears, he could hear the distinct chatter of many, many voices. There must be an event going on; that could be good cover.

"No offence, mate," the other boy said, moving across to him, "but you don't look alright."

The boy that didn't look like Harry Potter was rather dashing, his cheekbones pronounced and his dark hair slicked back. He offered Draco a hand, which he gratefully accepted, and pulled him to his feet. Draco winced as he tested his weight on his ankle — it fucking hurt.

"You weren't at the party?" the not-Harry accused.

Draco had not planned for this scenario. He'd sort of planned for the eventuality that he might bump into a house-elf, or potentially another Malfoy family member. He had not planned to twist his ankle and bump into two party guests. His head ran through the potential options, including one that required stunning the two boys, but eventually he settled on an idea.

"I think I might have just slid out the wrong Floo," Draco said, casting a spell to tidy up the trousers and shirt he was wearing, followed by fixing his hair. "Shit. Any chance you can get me out of here?"

He didn't need them to believe the lie; he needed them to help. The two boys exchanged a mischievous look that Draco could only compare to the two Weasel-twins. He had a feeling that they were going to help him for the adrenaline rush, but that was fine. He just needed to get out of here, and he was going to need help with his ankle throbbing and probably swelling inside his shoe.

"You're looking at two of the most sneakiest—"

"Most sneakiest?" Not-Harry said skeptically, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"Most sneakiest," confirmed the cheekbone-boy, before turning back to Draco. "We can get you out. I'm Sirius, and this is James."

"Draco," he responded.

So this was James Potter and Sirius Black — Harry Potter's dad and Draco's uncle — and they were going to help him. James undid his tie and passed it to Draco, telling him to put it on. Their plan was to blend. Draco looped the purple tie around his neck, typing it quickly, muscle memory still there from when he'd attended Hogwarts what seemed like an eternity ago. Sirius went ahead and checked the corridor and James looked at Draco curiously. He really did look just like Harry had.

"You sure you will be able to walk?" James asked.

Draco nodded. "Yes, I'll be fine."

The next thing Draco knew the three of them were walking back in the direction of the stairs. The background noise of lots of people talking all at once got louder and louder, until eventually, Draco was in a room surrounded by elegantly dressed men and women. Their ballroom was decorated extravagantly; he hadn't seen it like this in over a decade. The tables were adorned with polished silverware and ice blue embellishments. Groups of people were talking, laughing, and there was a band playing the raised platform where Draco remember a piano sitting once.

James wound through the crowd easily, beckoning Sirius and Draco after him. Sirius stayed at his side as Draco forced himself forward, pain shooting through his ankle. He was thankful because at one point he had to grab Sirius' arm, thinking he might fall.

Eventually, fresh cold air hit his face, and the three boys were standing outside.

It was icy. The ground and rockery was covered in a thin layer of frost, and Draco could see his breath condensing in front of his eyes. He was beginning to regret not at least wearing an extra layer. James and Sirius walked him to the black iron gates that fronted Malfoy Manor, none of them really saying much at all until they stopped.

"Thank you," Draco said, his fingers unwinding the tie. "Both of you; I owe you both."

"You're welcome," Sirius said.

Draco passed the tie back to James and stepped away. He planned to get the Knight Bus from here. Clearing his throat, Draco rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe I'll see you both again; I'm going to go. Bye."

James opened his mouth, and Draco saw Sirius nudge him so that he didn't say what he was about to say. Instead they both replied with niceties. Draco had a feeling they wouldn't let it go once he was gone, but that was none of his concern. He pulled open the gate and then slipped through, feeling the magic of the wards wash over him.

It was time to head to Hogwarts.

* * *

 **Comp/Challenge & Prompts: **

**\- Insane House Challenge:** 161: Location - Malfoy Manor

 **\- 365 Prompts Challenge:** 205\. Plot Point - A character runs away

 **\- FanFiction Resolutions Challenge:** 20\. Write a cliche plot

 **\- Conversation Starter Prompt Challenge:** 1\. Write about a character being grateful for something.

 **\- Bath Bomb Appreciation Challenge:** 4\. Bomb-jamin Button - Write about a character who has performed a spell/used a potion to give the illusion of becoming younger.

 **\- Writing Club [Character Appreciation]:** 3\. Plot: Starting a new life

 **\- Writing Club [Showtime]** \- 12. Words Fail - (word) Worthy

 **\- Writing Club: [Book Club] -** Caine Soren: (character) Draco Malfoy, (word) insane, (dialogue) "Deep down she's a good person. Deep down, I'm not."

 **\- Writing Club: [Trope of the Month]** \- De-aged

 **\- Writing Club: [Liza's Loves] -** 10\. La Grande Illusion

 **\- Dragon Appreciation Challenge**

 **Word Count:** 1288 — not inc. notes, titles, or ANs.


End file.
